Girard-Perregaux has been making watches for 221 years, but this year marks a big period of transition for the makers of both the beautiful and the bold. GP was bought by luxury conglomerate PPR last summer, and just recently, GP North America was handed over to Mike Margolis (a fan favorite and regular Timezone contributor) who will be leading the brand's relaunch into the US.

Along with a refocused image in North America, GP has an entirely new website, blog (Mechanics of Style - A Digital Journal For The Modern Gentleman) with a few familiar faces contributing, and has announced it will offer a special owners portal called Your GP World that will allows GP owners exclusive inside access to the brand, including the opportunity for all tourbillon owners to meet the watchmaker who built their watch!It is expected to launch in May. These are just some of the new projects you can expect to see from the new Girard-Perregaux.

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La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (April 1, 2012) – Girard-Perregaux, iconic luxury Swiss watch brand, is proud to announce the expansion of its Social Media initiatives with the re-launch of its website this month. The new Girard-Perregaux website, which will feature a clean and more editorial look, will also be the host of a new lifestyle online journal and collectors community. It will be a dynamic and modern portal, one that will sport a high-end magazine aesthetic, with frequent updates and interactive features. Its new design will also be tailored to accommodate tablet and mobile technology.

Mechanics of Style: A Journal for the Modern Gentleman has been created to become one of the world’s leading online men’s luxury resources and to serve as a digital gateway to the good life. Highlighting all the elements that make a niche modern gentleman – from bespoke suits and bench-made shoes to travel and culinary pursuits, in line with the values of Girard-Perregaux watchmaking standards. Mechanics of Style will have two points of access: through the Girard-Perregaux homepage as well as its own URL MechanicsofStyle.com. A unique component of the journal will be the World Time Tour, a travel guide focusing on every destination featured in its renowned World-Wide Time Control (WW.TC) watch dial.

Your GP World, scheduled to launch in May, will be an online collectors’ community geared towards owners of Girard-Perregaux timepieces. Its members, in addition to being privy to exclusive news and brand events, will also have exclusive access to a collector’s liaison, early access to limited edition sales and the opportunity to reserve specific limited edition serial numbers. Live chats with members from the brand including Sowind Group (Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard) CEO, Michele Sofisti, Girard-Perregaux Managing Director, Stefano Macaluso, visionary watchmaker, Dominique Loiseau and members of the manufacturing team will also be at users’ fingertips. One special program will be Meet Your Maker, a yearly program that Girard-Perregaux will launch to enable Tourbillon collectors to meet the specific watchmaker that has built the watch at the La Chaux-de-Fonds Manufacture in Switzerland.

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Friday March 3, 2012

HODINKEE is one of the most widely read wristwatch publications in the world. Launched in 2008 by then 25-year-old Benjamin Clymer, the site quickly gained notoriety for earnest looks at some of the industry’s most interesting, and occasionally forgotten timepieces.